When you're out in the elements, fires are good for keeping you warm, heating your food, boiling water for drinking, and charging your smartphone. To achieve that last one, you'll need a FlameStower from Kickstarter. It's a portable device that requires water and fire to work.

Here's the process. Unfold the gadget. Add water to the small pop-up water cup on one end. Plug in the USB charger to your phone. Place the long flat end over a fire and start charging. It works by using a thermoelectric generator. Just be sure to extend the charging cable and keep your expensive phone away from the fire.

It takes about twice as long to charge your phone using the FlameStower as it would using an wall outlet. That gives you plenty of time to whip out the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, and make some s'mores. Just try not to gum up your touch screen afterwards.

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This isn't the first camping-related charger to hit the market. The PowerPot combined a cooking pot with a power charger. The BioLite camp stove provides a whole stove as part of the charger deal.

The design of the FlameStower is a bit different, and the result is a very portable and flexible device that can be set up to work with a camp fire, a kitchen stove, or just about any open flame.

The Kickstarter project has nearly doubled its $15,000 funding goal and has 20 days left. You can reserve your own FlameStower for an $80 pledge and feel just a little more ready for the zombie apocalypse than you did before.

About the author

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET's Crave blog. When not wallowing in weird gadgets and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
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